Word of mouth is valuable only because of what causes it and because of what it drives. It’s time to move the conversation about conversation away from a focus on ‘buzz’ and toward an investigation of innovative strategies to shift what consumers feel and do, not just how they talk.
Emotion is the root cause of word of mouth. Conversations about brands and products occur when consumers feel something strongly enough to want to share. Many marketers make the mistake of focusing on spreading the....